Regarding unpaid royalties, the proprietors of La Parada and Tiger’s Milk from the Life and Brand Portfolio restaurant company have been charged criminally by the South African Music Performance Rights Association (Sampra).
Sampra claims in a press release that the eateries have been illegally playing music owned by recording artists and record labels.
According to Pfanani Lishivha, CEO of the association, the group declined to pay the necessary license fees so that they could abide by the laws.
Since 2019, we have been in negotiations with Life and Brand Portfolio. We eventually came to a point where Life and Brand Portfolio did not deny that they owed us money; rather, they merely refused to pay. Therefore, what should we do if someone tells us, “I know what the law says, I know I need to pay, but I’m using your product and I’m not going to pay you,” and we don’t comply? Other than filing a lawsuit against such a group, there is little else you can do.
According to Wendy Alberts, CEO of the Restaurant Association of South Africa, getting a license to play music in restaurants is an expensive process.
The royalties that must be returned to the performers are not always the main concern. I believe the expense of these licenses is the reason. It is unaffordable since the tariff costs on these actually take a blanket approach and don’t really account for the business models that the restaurants have to pay. And occasionally, in order to keep those businesses operating, we have to turn off the music entirely. This is preferable than negotiating with the licensing organization to find a medium in which the restaurant can participate at a reasonable cost.
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